Smartphones and other mobile computing devices are highly beneficial mobile companions. However, access to one of the most useful and popular features of smartphones—the ability to take pictures—is often buried deep within the smartphone's user interface (UI). This lack of accessibility significantly increases the time between a user realizing they want to take a picture and being able to realize that desire. Such delay may be the difference between capturing a moment and losing it forever. Accordingly, the utility of a smartphone and associated user experience may be significantly improved by streamlining the UI flow for activating a camera mode on smartphones.